Fulham Palace parkrun

Fulham is a predominantly residential area in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London. It has a population of around 87,000 people with the wider borough being home to 186,000 people. There are a few theories as to the origin of the name. The first theory is that the name comes from the personal name 'Fulla' and the Old English word 'Hamm' meaning land hemmed in by water, marsh or higher ground. So it would have been an area of hemmed-in land belonging to someone called Fulla. However, other theories suggest that the name could come from the abundance of birds, largely water-fowl, residing in the area, which led to the Saxon name of Fullenhame or Foulenham. A third theory suggests the name comes from Fullanham or Foulham, and reflects the 'dirtiness of the place'. It was recorded as Fuleham in the Domesday book.

Archeological evidence suggests the land has been occupied on-and-off since Neolithic times, about 5,000 years ago. Like many areas in London, it was once agricultural, providing food for the people of London. It subsequently became home to many industries including weaving, ceramics, brewing, stained-glass, and pottery. The area even has a link to aviation thanks to aviation pioneer, Geoffrey de Havilland who built his first aeroplane in Fulham. It was also home to the Lillie Bridge maintenance depot, which looked after the maintenance of rolling stock on the Metropolitan and District underground lines for well over 100 years. There are two major football clubs based in the area, Chelsea and Fulham. Other sporting facilities include The Queen's Club tennis club which was the world's first multi-purpose sports complex, and the Hurlingham Club which one of the world's finest private members' clubs and regarded as the birthplace of modern-day polo.

Fulham covers only a very small part of what was historically The Manor of Fulham which covered most of Hammersmith, Acton, Ealing and Finchley. The manor itself was acquired by the Bishops of London in either 694 or 704 AD. The manor house is called Fulham Palace and sits adjacent to the River Thames in the south of Fulham. For 1,300 years it remained the official residence of the Bishop of London until 1973 when Deans Court in the City of London took over. The palace and grounds were subsequently leased from the Church of England by the local council. The manor house and its gardens once sat within a 1.4km long moat, making it the largest domestic moated site in medieval England.

The current land occupied by the house and gardens is now considerably smaller than it once was. In 1918 part of the grounds was converted to allotments for producing food during the first world war and later sold to the council, while the palace formed part of the Fulham Military Hospital. The allotments are still being used to this day. Before that, in 1893, a section of the grounds alongside the River Thames was given to the Fulham District Board of Works on condition that it be made into a public recreation area. It was then opened as Bishops Park. By 1900 further land had been added and the park was expanded.

Bishops Park is nestled into a relatively narrow piece of land that sits between Putney Bridge and Fulham Football Club's stadium, Craven Cottage. The park is now Grade II Listed and contains a few distinct areas such as Bishop's Meadow, West Lawn and Fielder's Meadow. It has a number of children's play areas, a sculpture garden, rose garden, an ornamental lake and even an urban beach. Sports facilities include an outdoor gym, a basketball court, bowling green, table tennis and the Rocks Lane tennis facility. The park and the adjacent All Saints Church were immortalised in movie history when they were used as locations in the 1976 horror film, The Omen. If you are unfamiliar with the film or need a refresher, you can watch the scenes on YouTube. 

On Saturday mornings Bishops Park is home to a free, weekly, timed, 5k event called Fulham Palace parkrun. It is open to all abilities including those who wish to walk the course. The event is primarily a community event and relies on volunteers, meaning that there are plenty of opportunities for those unable or uninterested in completing the course to become involved. The inaugural Fulham Palace parkrun was held on 19 October 2013 and that was when I first took part in the event. I revisited with the kids and my brother on 19 October 2024 and took part in the 11 year anniversary event. This write-up is from that second visit.

The most sensible way to travel to the park is by using public transport, and the closest station is Putney Bridge underground which is served by the Wimbledon branch of the District Line. Alternatively, if travelling exclusively on national rail trains, the best station to head for is Putney which is on the opposite side of the river, at the far end of Putney High Street. It is served by South Western Trains running between London Waterloo and Kingston, Windsor or Weybridge. Being in London there are a large number of bus services that pass close-by. The closest bus stops are on Fulham Palace Road and Putney Bridge Road, and are served by the 14, 22, 39, 74. 85, 93, 265, 378, 424 and 430 London bus services. This is not an exclusive list and there will be other services that also stop within a reasonable walking distance.

If driving to the venue, parking is extremely restricted, as is quite common for London. All of the local roads are covered by some kind of parking restriction, and many of these only allow residential parking at all times. However, just outside the park there are two roads, Bishop's Avenue and Bishop's Park Road which have a better system in place for non-residents. The main thing to remember is that the restrictions vary depending on whether Fulham Football Club are playing at home on the day. If it is a non-match day, you can park on one of these streets and pay for your desired time period. If it is a match day, parking on these roads is limited to a maximum of 1 hour, even at 9am in the morning. Payment can be made at a payment machine or by using the RingGo app.

Should you happen to be visiting on a match day and require more than 1 hour of parking or just looking for an alternative location to park, the following places may help. Firstly, next to Putney Bridge tube station there is a Premier Inn which has a public car park. There only seems to be one price point for parking and that seems to be £22 for 24 hours which isn't too bad if you are staying at the Premier Inn. For everybody else, even if you were only parked for an hour it would still cost £22, so it's a bit pricey for a short stay. However, my preferred option would be to park in the Putney Exchange shopping centre on Putney High Street. It is open from 8am on Saturday mornings and the current charges can be found on their website. Finally there are several bicycle racks dotted around the park, the best positioned for the parkrun are on Bishop's Avenue, outside the entrance to Fulham Palace or the park's racks adjacent to the toilets which are next to the Bishops Park Road entrance.

The meeting point for the parkrun is in the large circular area in the very centre of the park and this is where the briefings take place. This area was home to a bandstand from 1894 until 1960, and an open-air theatre after that. It was redesigned during the park's 2011 restoration and now features family-friendly recreation zones (playgrounds).

The parkrun's standard course takes place over an almost-three-lap anti-clockwise course, but at the time of writing (October 2024) there is a temporary course in use which is just over three laps. The good news is that both courses are completely flat and almost identical. The temporary course configuration is being used because a section of the far north end of the park had been closed off (since 2018, I believe) to store building materials while Fulham football club redevelop their riverside stand.

The surfaces underfoot are tarmac and light gravel so standard road shoes are the best option at all times of year. Participants pushing buggies are totally fine on this course, as are wheelchair users. The main consideration is the sheer popularity of this event which can attract around 600 participants, which is quite a large number for this three lap course to cope with. The result of this is that there is a lot of lapping and we were advised to keep to the left and let those lapping us pass on the right. As of 2024 the course didn't have any signage, but all of the turning points were marshalled and the route is very easy to follow. 

The standard start area of the parkrun is on the park's northeastern path which is adjacent to Stevenage Road. However the temporary course starts on the outer south-western side of the large circular area where it simply follows the curve and joins the parkrun's main loop near the Fulham Palace main entrance. From here the course heads north-west towards Craven Cottage where the route simply follows the tarmac path as it turns left at the end, following the temporary tarmac path that crosses Fielders Meadow. Once Fulham Football Club has finished the redevelopment, the closed-off section of the park will be restored (and I imagine the parkrun will revert to its standard course). My understanding is that it was due to be returned in mid-2025, but I've read the football club may be requesting an extension. The parkrun course then takes another left-hand turn onto the path that runs along the riverside.

The riverside path is officially part of the 185.2 mile long Thames Path National Trail which runs from the source of the Thames in the Cotswolds through to Woolwich in South East London (an extension of the path, but not part of the national trail, continues through to Crayford). The embankment which houses the path was completed in 1893 and was built by Joseph Mears, who was the father of Joseph and Gus Mears, the brothers who founded Chelsea Football Club. The path has trees and bushes to its left and railings to its right, and from here there is a view over the Thames and as the route progresses Putney Bridge comes into view. An interesting fact about Putney Bridge is that it is the only bridge in the Britain to be flanked by churches at both ends. I would also note that there is a bit of a chicane in the path as it passes around an old set of steps leading down to the water.

The course leaves the Thames Path via a shallow left turning which is then followed by a sharp left turn and the course then works its way along the opposite side of Bishop's Meadow heading back towards the original meeting area. This particular path is very popular with cyclists, so you do need to stay aware. Once at the end of this path, the course swings to the right and then immediately to the left where it joins the northeastern path and the lap is then complete. The finish is located at the end of the Bishop's Meadow path so at the end of the third lap the funnel can be entered. Barcodes and finish tokens are scanned within the large circular area and once this has taken place, participants can place their token on its respective hook on the bespoke finish token board.

I recorded the course used on 19 October 2024 using my Garmin and the resulting GPS data can be viewed on my Strava account. I also have my original GPS data from my visit to event 1 on 19 October 2013. However the actual standard course is slightly different, so I have acquired that GPS data too. There are also Relive course fly-by videos for all three and they can be found on my YouTube account - links are below. The results were processed and published online later that morning and there were 429 finishers at event 469. This is on the lower side of the normal range of attendees, and I suspect the lower turnout was caused by a combination of the rainy weather and some curious locals venturing to Battersea parkrun's second event. There seem to be a few other events that mean the parkrun has to cancel, such as the annual boat race, the Action Challenge charity event and the Guy Fawkes night fireworks display / lightshow (not taking place in 2024). So be sure to check before visiting.

There are two on-site options for post-parkrun refreshments. Firstly there is the park's cafe called The Tea House, which is located right next to the finish area - we had some tea and hot chocolate here, which was very nice indeed. Alternatively you can head into Fulham Palace (entry is free) where there is also a cafe within the palace itself. Both options have indoor and outdoor seating. While we didn't sample the refreshments in the palace, we did pop in and explored the palace and its gardens which contain a walled garden and a 500 year-old oak, which were very pleasant and worth a visit.

Despite the rain, we had a really nice day out in the park and the palace, which we would never have visited if it hadn't been for the parkrun. A huge thank to all of the volunteers that looked after us during our visit.

Related Links:

• Fulham Palace parkrun GPS data (Standard course)
• Relive course fly-by video (Standard course)

• Fulham Palace parkrun GPS data (Temporary course as of 2024) (Current course)
• Relive course fly-by video (Temporary course as of 2024) (Current course)

• Fulham Palace parkrun GPS data (Original course 2013)
• Relive course fly-by video (Original course 2013)

• The London parkruns (blog7t)
• Fulham Palace parkrun 2013 write-up (blog7t)

Sittingbourne parkrun

Sittingbourne is a town in the county of Kent with a population of around 62,000 people. Throughout its history the town's name has been recorded as Sedingbourne, Saedingburga and Sydingeburga, meaning a hamlet by the bourne or stream. The settlement sits directly on the route of the Roman Watling Street and this was directly responsible for some of the town's growth, notably from the 12th century when it became a popular location for inns and hostels catering to people making their pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral following the murder of the Arch Bishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket.

The growth of modern-day Sittingbourne started around the time of the industrial revolution when paper mills, brickyards and barge building industries were established locally. An interesting fact is that the London Bridge - Greenwich railway viaduct, the first elevated railway line in the world, was constructed from bricks made in Sittingbourne. As Sittingbourne grew, it consumed some of the adjacent settlements which are now suburbs of Sittingbourne. However, before the 18th century one of these suburbs, Milton Regis, previously known as the Manor of Middleton Regis, was in fact the largest and most powerful manor in the local area, and Sittingbourne was one of its hamlets.

Milton Regis was recorded in the Domesday Book as Middleton Terra Regis. It was known as a port of wealth, which is probably why William the Conqueror claimed it as his own. The area's use as a settlement may go back to the Mesolithic age. It is certainly known that there was a Roman presence here as artefacts and foundations of their buildings, possibly a fort, have been found. A Roman villa once existed next to what is now Holy Trinity Church, which was founded shortly after the 597 arrival of St Augustine. This makes it one of the oldest churches in Kent. Some of the villa's Roman bricks were used in its construction.

Milton Regis sits next to Milton Creek, which is an arm of The Swale (the stretch of water that separates the Isle of Sheppey from the mainland) and much of the area is marshland. The area to the south and east of the church was historically known as Church Marshes and was also home to Church Farm. It was also home to some of the area's brickworks which took advantage of the naturally available materials such as clay and chalk. The holes that were created by the clay and gravel extraction were back-filled with the domestic waste from London which was brought back on the barges that delivered the bricks into the city. The landfill site was eventually closed in 1973.

By the time the new millennium came around, the decision had been made to transform the former landfill site into a country park. Work began on decontaminating the site in 2001, and this included capping the filled areas. It was initially opened as Church Marshes Country Park, but was later renamed Milton Creek Country Park. It features many different areas including open grass, rough grass, scattered trees, woodland, an orchard, scrubland, ponds and marshland. The majority of the park has a country feel, but the far western section has more of a structured layout, and also contains a children's play area. In February 2016 the park became home to a free, weekly, timed 5k event called Sittingbourne parkrun.

The parkrun is open to all abilities including people who wish to walk the course. It is of course primarily a community event and is a great place for locals to meet and become part of the volunteering team, even if they have no interest in walking or running the course. I first visited in March 2016 where I took part in event number 3, I then revisited with the rest of the family in October 2024, where we took part in event number 376. It is this later visit that this write-up is from. In the years that have passed the park's flora has really become more established and I found most areas unrecognisable from what I remembered from my first visit.

There is a free-of-charge on-site car park which can be accessed from Saffron Way / Mill Way (B2005). Should alternative parking be required, there is an Asda with a large car park just a short walk away. There are also some residential roads which appear to be free of restrictions. If using sat nav or an app for directions, I found that entering Milton Creek Country Park resulted in directions being given to the opposite side of the park, so I set my Google maps planner to head for the new Greggs Drive-thru which was constructed right outside the car park entrance in 2022. Incidentally, the construction of the building also included an upgrade to the car park entrance and this resulted in a change of the parkrun route.

Travel by public transport is possible by using Southeastern National Rail services and alighting at the main Sittingbourne station which is in the centre of the town. The station is on the Chatham Main Line with services running between London Victoria and Dover Priory / Ramsgate. It is also on the High Speed 1 (HS1) route which runs between London St Pancras International and Ashford International. Lastly it is on the Sheerness Line which is a branch line connecting Sheerness to the main line at Sittingbourne. The onward walk from the train station is approximately 1.1 miles. If you happened to be on the Sheerness Line, you could alight at Kemsley and the onward walk is just under a mile.

If using the buses, the 347 service stops not far from the park's north-west tip. In addition to this the parkrun course page says that the 344 bus stops nearby, but I cannot find any information on this particular service, so it may be that it has been discontinued since the page was last updated. If visiting from afar, there are few large chain hotels present in the town, notably a Holiday Inn, a Travelodge and a Wetherspoons all located on Sittingbourne High Street. There is also a Premier Inn, but this is located just outside the western boundary of the town. Finally, cyclists can find a bank of cycle racks within the car park.

Once at the park, the place to head for is the open grass area at the western end of the park. It is located to the immediate north-west of the car park. I found that there was a split of people gathering - some had congregated near the finish area with most of the volunteers while others had gathered near the start area which is on the path which faces the Holy Trinity Church - both areas are in line of sight of each other. The park has toilets and these are located just behind a cluster of trees in-between the parkrun finish area and the children's playground. Their advertised opening time is 8am. Should you happen to pop into the Greggs for a pre-parkrun snack or drink (it opens at 6am), there is a customer-only toilet available here too.

The first timers' briefing and the main briefing are both held at the start area. As of my October 2024 visit, the parkrun takes place over a lollipop-style course with two clockwise laps around the sweet part. However in no way, shape or form does the actual shape of the course resemble a lollipop! As I noted above, the course was changed in 2022 and although the new one uses many of the same paths as the original, the configuration is quite different.

Although the course features the ocassional minor change in gradient, this remains a flat course and my 2024 GPS data reported the elevation change as zero. The surfaces underfoot are a combination of hard-standing paths, dirt tracks, some grass and some gravelly sections, quite possibly a hoggin path. It is worth bearing in mind that the local area is historically marshy, and it doesn't take much rain for the ground to become wet and muddy. So unless it is the height of summer I would strongly lean towards wearing trail shoes here. People participating with buggies are more than welcome, but do take note regarding possible splashy and muddy conditions. For wheelchair users, I'd say this is not the ideal course, but it should be possible to navigate with a heavy leaning towards avoiding the winter months.

The start area is on the park's most westerly path and begins with the participants heading directly towards the church. The course very quickly turns and follows the northern border heading towards the east. The surface underfoot gradually changes to a track-way as the path curves around the adjacent housing. Take note that just to the left of the path the ground drops away quite steeply underneath the line of bushes, so stick to the path. At around 800 metres into the parkrun, the route turns off of the northern border and goes deeper into the park. All the turns are well-marshalled and signed, and to be honest they need to be, because the park features a network of intersecting paths and the course would be difficult to navigate without them.

The opening stick part of our lollipop course lasts 1.2 kilometres, and at this point the course joins the loop. The two laps of the loop are themselves also 1.2 kilometres each in length. The surface remains largely a light gravel most of the way around. It passes an additional children's play area with brightly coloured posts, and every now and then various picturesque views present themselves - quite often with the tower of the Holy Trinity Church in the distance. There are plenty of turns to negotiate which keeps the course interesting to navigate around. I was pleased to see the carved tree trunk dragon called Gladys is still on the route, however it is not quite in as good condition as it was on my previous visit.

If you happen to notice a weird, foul smell in the air, it is likely that this is coming from the local recycling plant or the local sewage treatment facility. News reports suggest it is common for sewage to be released into Milton Creek at high tide and this may be the source of the unpleasant smell wafting through the air. 

When the loop has been negotiated twice, the course rejoins the stick section where it follows the exact same paths all the way back to the original start point. If you've done your maths properly, you will note that the total so far is only 4.8 kilometres, and that means that there are another two hundred metres to go before reaching the finish. So when reaching the start area, the course simply follows the park's main path around the edge of a circular landscaped feature and then heads along the path adjacent to the car park before reaching the finish line.

Barcode scanning takes place immediately after the finish line and when the event has finished the team head off to 'a local cafe', which just so happens to be the Greggs just outside the car park entrance. It really is perfectly placed for the post-parkrun refreshments and has plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. The results were published a short while later and on this visit there were 216 finishers while 21 people were credited with a volunteering role. The number of attendees is usually in the high one-hundreds or low two-hundreds so event 376 was quite representative. I recorded the course using my Garmin and the course GPS data can be found on Strava. There is also an accompanying Relive course fly-by video which can be viewed on YouTube.

If you are looking for something to do after the parkrun, Sittingbourne isn't a particularly tourist oriented location as it is largely residential and industrial. A notable exception is the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway which is a narrow gauge heritage railway, first constructed to move materials between the early 20th century Kemsley Mill and Ridham Dock on the Swale. It now operates on quite a restricted timetable, generally running over the summer or for special events, and not very often on Saturdays. A section of the railway line crosses the Milton Regis Viaduct which is believed to be the longest concrete viaduct in the UK. The line also passes along the southern border of Milton Creek Country Park.

Overall it is a nice event with a very friendly and welcoming team of volunteers, I was surprised at how much the country park had changed since I was last there. I made sure to thank the day's run director before leaving, but would also like to add a wider thanks to all of the volunteers who made us feel welcome during our visit.

Related Links:

• The course GPS data (12 October 2024)
• The course fly-by video (12 October 2024)

• The original course GPS data (12 March 2016 - course no longer in use)
• The original course fly-by video (12 March 2016 - course no longer in use)

• My original Sittingbourne parkrun write-up

• The Kent parkrun venues (blog7t)

Southend parkrun

Up until 2021, Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, was a town. For many years the area's long-standing MP, Sir David Amess, had campaigned for it to be granted city status. In October 2021 following the fatal stabbing of Sir David at his constituency surgery, Queen Elizabeth II agreed to grant Southend-on-Sea with city status as a memorial to him and this was made official in early 2022. The city covers just over 16 square miles and has a population of around 180,000 people. It was first recorded in the 14th century as Stratende when it was a small piece of land in the manor of Milton.

The development of the town started in the late 18th century when seaside health resorts were becoming popular places for people to escape the crowded and dirty cities. Its growth was initially quite slow due to poor transport links from London. This was partly remedied by the passing of the Southend Pier Act 1829, and the subsequent construction of Southend Pier, which at 2.1 kilometres in length was and remains the longest pleasure pier in the world. To make transfer to and from the shore easier, the UK's first pier railway line was installed.

The city is also a borough in its own right and a Unitary Authority where the Southend-on-Sea City Council is made up of 17 wards. One of these wards is Shoeburyness and it is this area which is the focus of this write-up. Shoeburyness sits 3 miles to the east of Southend city centre and was a separate town until it was absorbed by its larger neighbour in 1933. The name goes back to Saxon times where the town was originally called Schoebirig before evolving into Shoebury, and later became the separate settlements of North Shoebury and South Shoebury.

Archaeological finds show the area has had human inhabitants since the Mesolithic era, with a later Iron Age settlement also having been discovered. It is known that the Romans built a fort here called Essobira, which is said to have been attacked during the Boudican Revolt. However, no firm evidence of its exact location has been found. The mid-nineteenth century saw the first real expansion of South Shoebury's population, and this was as a result of the opening of a brickfield and the arrival of the military. The brickfield produced bricks which were largely transported along the River Thames into the heart of London.

The Board of Ordnance purchased land in South Shoebury in 1849 where an artillery testing and practice range was established, replacing the outdated ranges in Plumstead and Woolwich in south east London. This range went on to become the Royal Artillery School of Gunnery, The Coast Artillery School and has also been known as Shoebury Fort and Shoebury Garrison. It was also a key defensive position during the Second World War. There is still a munitions testing facility here, currently under the name of MOD Shoeburyness, but this is centred on the site's New Ranges which are located further to the east and north covering the islands of Foulness and Havengore. The original site, known as The Old Ranges was closed in 1998 with the land and buildings sold for development into a new neighbourhood.

Part of the land adjacent to the Thames Estuary is now called Gunners Park and Shoebury Ranges, which together form a 25 hectare nature reserve managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. The park and the local area contain many of the garrison's listed buildings, some of which have been repurposed into residential dwellings alongside some new builds which have been designed to subtly blend in with the old. The are also various memorials and nods to the area's past dotted around. A notable feature just outside the park is The Garrison Clock Tower. The park itself contains many different habitats including dense scrubland, scattered trees, ancient sand dunes and coastal grassland as well as a lake, and it is a haven for birds and other wildlife which even includes some rare species.

Dotted around the park are facilities for leisure such as tennis courts, cricket pitch, a basketball court, a skatepark, a couple of playgrounds and a cafe housed within the Grade II Listed 'Cart and Wagon Shed', which is an early military prefabricated building dating from around 1860. There are a number of other historical buildings and installations around the park such as the Old Barge Pier, the Heavy Quick-Firing Battery, the Searchlight Emplacement, the Boat House and the Powder Magazine. Since December 2012 the park has also been home to a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event called Southend parkrun. It takes place at 9am on Saturday mornings and is open to all abilities including people who wish to walk or take part in a wheelchair.

I first visited the park in January 2014 and took part in event number 69. Ten-and-a-half years later I revisited the park and took part in event number 561 and it is that latter event from which this write-up was created. Travel-wise, I used the car to reach the venue on both occasions and parked in the free on-site car park, accessible from New Barge Pier Road, which can hold approximately 100 vehicles including disabled bays. Should the car park be full there is a second, much smaller, car park located next to the cafe which is accessible from Warrior Square. At first sight, the adjacent residential roads appear to be completely free of restrictions however there are signs advising that the roads are private and that there is no right of parking. For cyclists, there is a segregated cycle route all the way along the seafront and there are bicycle racks located within both of the car parks.

For travel via public transport, the best railway station to head for is Shoeburyness which is the terminus for c2c trains running from London Fenchurch Street, stopping at stations in east London and along the southern part of Essex such as Upminster, Basildon, Chalkwell and Southend. There are only a few trains that run early enough on a Saturday morning to make it in time for parkrun, so be sure to check the timetable beforehand. The 9, 9A and 14 buses seem to be the options for bus services to the local area. For an overnight stay, Shoeburyness itself doesn't have much to offer, but there is a wide selection of hotels just along the coast in Southend itself, including three Premier Inns. 

The park does not have any public toilets, however there are a couple of options nearby. The first option is just to the west of the park where the toilets can be found in the Shoebury Common Beach car park (1km from the parkrun meeting area). Another option I spotted on the way was just to the north of the park where toilets can be found on Campfield Road just next to the junction where it meets the A13 / Ness Road (900 metres away). The Southend-on-Sea City Council website lists both of these toilets as being open from 8am 365 days per year. We travelled into Southend on the A127 and saw a few McDonalds where a pit stop could also be made en-route.

Once in the park the meeting point for the parkrun is in a small clearing on the north side of the lake, directly to the south of the main car park. It is in this clearing that the briefings take place before everybody relocates to the start area which is at the junction about 100 metres to the east. Southend parkrun takes place over a three-lap anti-clockwise course with the finish being off the loop, back at the main meeting area. Underfoot is almost entirely tarmac paths, with a very short section on gravel and just a few metres of dirt each lap. My GPS data registered the total elevation change over the 5 kilometres at 9 metres, so this can only be described as a flat course. It is perfectly fine for anyone that wishes to take part with a buggy and for wheelchair users.

From the start the course heads towards the north west along the gently curved tarmac path. It is a fixed width and largely bordered with bushes and other natural features, so if you start out-of-position it may take a while to filter through as there are not a great number of opportunities to leave the path to overtake. The first corner is at the far north-west point of the course, just after passing the skate park. After turning the corner, the next section follows the perfectly straight path historically called Barge Pier Road where you get a lovely view across the lake. This was once the route of a tramway which led to The Old Barge Pier. There's an ever-so-gentle incline at the end of this path where it gently climbs and the route then proceeds a few metres from the sea wall.

The arrangement is that parkrunners should generally stick to the left hand side of the path, and anyone overtaking should do so by passing on the right hand side. I will also note that the course was very well marked out and there were marshals present at all the key points of the course. The park is popular with local dog walkers and some of the paths are part of the local cycle routes, so keep an eye out for bicycles. I'm not sure if he is a regular feature, but look out for the guy with the Union Jack flag cheering everyone on. Now heading generally to the east, this path gives a different view across the lake which is very picturesque, especially on a crisp sunny morning. If it is a windy day, this is the section where you may feel the effects of it - whether that's good or bad depends on the direction of the wind, of course.

Although the course runs alongside the Thames Estuary you don't really see the water until the latter parts of this path where it moves directly alongside the sea wall. From here it is possible to see what remains of the Shoeburyness Boom which extends out into the estuary and was used to prevent submarines gaining access to the Thames during the Cold War. This part of the park features the Heavy Quick-Firing Battery, which I heard locals refer to as The Castle. Immediately after this is where the surface underfoot changes to gravel followed by a few metres of dirt/mud, where the course has a gentle u-turn and returns to tarmac for the last section of the lap which meanders back around to the start point.

Once three laps have been completed, the course turns to the left and heads back towards the meeting point where you will find the finish funnel. The barcode scanners are positioned on the grass clearing and once scanned, you can pop your finishing token into the slot in one of the yellow buckets. I recorded the course using my Garmin and the GPS data can be viewed on my Strava account. That data was also used to create a course fly-by video using the Relive app. For the record, the course in 2024 was identical to the one used in 2014. The results were published a short while later and there were 259 participants at event 561 which is pretty much spot-on the expected number for this venue.

The post-parkrun refreshments are listed as being at The Shorehouse Harvester, on Ness Road. There are of course other options such as the Serendipity Cafe located in the Cart and Wagon shed. This cafe is in the same building as the Shoeburyness Heritage Centre. If you have time it is worth having a little look around the local area where you may spot some of the area's historic buildings and features. Another obvious post-parkrun option would be to head into the centre of Southend and have a day out at the seaside. We had planned to do that and walk to the end of the pier, but sadly ran out of time. Nevertheless we had a lovely morning out in Gunners Park and Shoeburyness. Finally, a huge thanks goes to all of the volunteers that helped put the parkrun on.

Related Links:

• Southend parkrun GPS data (28 September 2024)
• The course Relive video (28 September 2024)

• The Essex parkrun venues (blog7t)

• My 2014 Southend parkrun write-up (blog7t)

• Chalkwell Beach parkrun write-up (blog7t)

Hampstead Heath parkrun

The settlement of Hampstead sits within the London Borough of Camden, in north London, and is one of the capital city's most exclusive and expensive places to live. In fact Hampstead village has the highest concentration of millionaires in the country. The geology of the area meant that natural springs were present. Hampstead had its own Chalybeate spring (meaning the water had a high iron content), and this was regarded as being medicinal. During the 18th century the area became a fashionable place where people would visit the spa and drink the water.

The further growth of Hampstead was instigated when the railway arrived in the area in the 1860s. This led to more housing being built, and ever since has been a popular place of residence for artists, composers, writers, scientists and politicians such as George Orwell, Agatha Christy, Henry Moore, John Constable, John Keats, Liam Gallgher, Sting, Sigmund Freud, Charles de Gaulle, and William Pitt the elder, to name a few. Plus it was the birthplace of Elizabeth Taylor, Damon Hill, Stephen Fry and Saul Hudson, who is better known as Slash from Guns N' Roses. The list goes on, and in total there are over 60 English Heritage blue plaques within the village.

To the immediate north and east of the village is Hampstead Heath which is a large area of ancient heath land. Archaeological evidence suggests its links to human history go back as far as the Mesolithic era around 7000 BC (or BCE). The earliest written records of the area seem to date from around 986 when the area was recorded as 'Hemstede' which comes from the Old English for homestead. By the time of the 1086 Domesday Book, it was owned by the monastery of St. Peters and was known as the Manor of Hampstead.

The manor changed hands many times over the years, and by the 18th century, had come into the possession of General Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson and upon his death in 1821 it passed to his son Sir Thomas Maryon Wilson. The new owner had grand plans to develop parts of the heath, however, the terms in his father's will prevented him from selling the land or granting leases for longer than 21 years. This condition made the land unsuitable for building, and despite repeated efforts to have a bill passed in parliament to allow leases of 99 years, the House of Commons rejected it. The heath remained as natural undeveloped heath land.

Around the time of his death in 1869, there was mounting pressure for the heath to become publicly owned. In 1870 the Metropolitan Board of Works agreed to purchase the land, and in 1871 the Hampstead Heath Act was passed which allowed the sale to go ahead and added further conditions to protect it from future development. Additional areas of land were subsequently added to the area including, in 1899, the heath's most famous and popular spot, Parliament Hill Fields. It is here that you can find one of London's most famous viewpoints which gives a panoramic view across the centre of London. In fact the heath is home to 4 of the 13 London Protected Views.

At the northern boundary of the heath is Kenwood House which dates from the 18th century. It is Grade II* Listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, and approximately one-third of the grounds is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is now operated by English Heritage and is free-of-charge to enter. During the 1920s the house and its 112 acres of parkland were purchased and added to the heath. The total area of land the park covers is now a whopping 790 acres and features areas of heath, woodland and open grassy meadows. The heath is also home to the 8th highest point in London.

Hampstead Heath once had over twenty-five ponds, but only eighteen of these still exist. They were created in 1777 by the damming of Hampstead Brook in order to create reservoirs to increase London's water supply. Some of the ponds are now famously used as swimming pools while another is a boating pond. In the middle of the heath is a tumulus, which legend says is where Queen Boudica is buried, however excavations in 1894 revealed no evidence of any burials at all. There are numerous other interesting features dotted around the heath such as a viaduct, the stone of free speech and the Hollow Tree which can reportedly hold 15 people within its trunk.

There are many links to popular culture to be found at the heath. A number of films have been made here including the 2017 true-story film Hampstead about a man who successfully claimed squatters rights on a corner of the heath and there's also a documentary called The Ponds which is quite interesting. The most well-known film is undoubtedly 1999's Notting Hill, which uses the grounds of Kenwood House for the scenes where Julia Roberts' character is filming a period-piece movie. It also features in Bram Stoker's Dracula novel, where it is the location that a character abducts some children. Finally, it is also said the heath gave the novelist C.S. Lewis inspiration when creating the land of Narnia. 

In May 2011, the park became home to Hampstead Heath parkrun, which is a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event open to all abilities including those who wish to walk. For those that like to complete challenges, it is part of the alliterative parkruns set. I first visited and took part in event 108 which was held on 1 June 2013. I then revisited with the rest of the family on 14 September 2024 to take part in event 611. With the heath being so vast, it is important to know exactly which part of it to head to beforehand. The parkrun meeting point is in the East Heath area, which is on the southern side of the park near the village of Hampstead. The best point to enter the heath is via the entry points opposite Well Road or Well Walk. The latter of these is the location of Hampstead's Chalybeate Well.

If travelling by public transport the closest tube station is Hampstead which is served by trains on the Northern Line. At a depth of 58.5 metres this station's platforms have the distinction of being the deepest on London's entire tube network. The station is around 800 metres from the parkrun meeting point. Alternatively Hampstead Heath overground station is a similar distance away and both involve an uphill walk. If travelling on National Rail, the closest stations are either West Hampstead or Kentish Town. Both of these are further away and may require a change onto the London underground, London overground or a bus to complete the journey. The venue is of course reachable via numerous bus services, some that stop closest are the 46, 88, 268, and 603 (this is not an exhaustive list).

Public transport is the best way to reach this venue, however, if travelling by vehicle, the obvious place to park is East Heath car park, which has 110 spaces (plus a healthy selection of bicycle racks) and can be accessed via East Heath Road. As it is effectively in Central London, it does come with premium parking charges. As of September 2024, up-to two hours will cost £6.50, 2-4 hours costs £13.00, and any extra time is charged at an extra £11 per hour. Payment seems to be exclusively made via the RingGo app, so make sure you've got that set up before travelling here. The next closest car park is Jack Straw's car park, which has the same charges and payment method but is located on the west heath. Blue Badge holders can park for free however you must register the badge and vehicle online before visiting.

For anyone looking for free-of-charge parking, the closest on-street options I have seen are to the north of the heath. Hampstead Lane (B519) which runs adjacent to the heath's northern border has some sections that allow parking. Some of the side roads which lead off of Hampstead Lane, such as The Bishops Avenue, also have restriction-free areas. Interestingly, The Bishops Avenue is home to around 66 of the most expensive mansions in the country and is often referred to as Billionaires Row. Another option for free parking exists for English Heritage members, who can park in the Kenwood House car park which opens at 8am. This car park has a four hour limit for all users. The main thing to bear in mind is that all of these free options are quite a distance from the parkrun meeting point, with the Kenwood House car park being roughly 1.7 kilometres away. The on-street options are over 2 kilometres.

If travelling from further afield and considering staying somewhere overnight, there is a Premier Inn in Hampstead which is about 1.3 kilometres from the heath. It also has a customer car park which as of summer 2024 has a fee of £20 per 24 hours.

The heath has multiple onsite toilet facilities, but are all very spaced out across the various sections of the park. The ones closest to the parkrun are the Vale of Health toilets which are located in the East Heath section, approximately 700 metres to the north of the meeting point. If a toilet is crucial to your pre-parkrun routine, I would note that the heath is quite wooded here and if unfamiliar with the area it would be easy to lose one's bearings, so leave plenty of time to find (or re-find) the meeting area post toilet visit. On the subject of toilets, Hampstead is home to the 1897 'South End Green' toilets which, apart from being known as London's most elegant toilets, are also famous for being the location where the late George Michael was arrested in 2008. Please note that these are not likely to be open before parkrun.

The meeting point itself is in the open triangular-shaped grassy area adjacent to the Vale of Health Children's Play Area (on Google maps it is labelled as Vale of Health Play Enclosure). The event briefing takes place in this space and the participants are then ushered onto Lime Avenue which is the location of the start. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a first timers' briefing, only the one main briefing. This parkrun attracts a very consistent number of attendees which hovers around the 500 mark, so expect the start area to be extremely busy and if you don't manage to get yourself into the right spot at the start, you'll just have to accept it and be patient while filtering through the crowd.

The parkrun takes place on a two-lap lollipop-style course with the stick section used for the start and finish parts only. It could also be described as being an 'out, two-laps, and back' course. The surfaces underfoot are a combination of a forest-style dirt trail, gravel and tarmac. Footwear choice can be tricky here owing to the different surfaces, but overall I would edge towards wearing trail shoes especially in unfavourable conditions (winter or after significant rain). Hampstead Heath is quite a hilly place, so it is only natural that the parkrun follows that trend. My GPS data reported a total of 99 metres of elevation gain over the course of the 5 kilometres, which makes it one of the hilliest parkruns in London (second, I think). This event is fine for those who wish to participate with a buggy. I'm always nervous about advising suitability for wheelchair users, all I can say is that it is hilly, one of the downhills is particularly steep and the ground in not always smooth. I will also note that there are a lot of dog walkers here, so many loose dogs will be encountered on the way around.

Starting at the southern end of Lime Avenue, the course opens with a downhill section through this wooded section for about 200 metres which then seamlessly merges into an uphill, both with a gradient of around 6-7%. I would note that the edges of Lime Avenue feature a number of ditches and other potential trip hazards, so stay on the main part of the path and don't be tempted to go off-piste. At about 500 metres into the course, the thick coverage of trees on the right hand side begins to give way to a more open landscape, which reveals a very picturesque view to the east. The surface changes to gravel here and there is a long downhill section which leads all the way around to the Model Boating Pond. This section's marshal spot is regularly looked after by long-standing volunteer, David.

As the course approaches the pond, the surface underfoot switches to tarmac and then meanders along the western side of the beautifully landscaped pond. This is the course's lowest point, but almost immediately starts to go uphill where the route heads towards the famous viewpoint at Parliament Fields, however the course doesn't go all the way to the top. Another marshal can be found here and there's a short but rather steep downhill section. There is a nice moment, which I was reminded of when I read the Maria Runs Hampstead Heath parkrun blog, where you can glance over to the high point and see the silhouettes of fellow parkrunners making their way along the ridge. The last part of the lap continues the undulating theme of this parkrun as it weaves through a series of partially wooded sections before the end of the lap is reached.

The second lap starts by turning to the right, back onto the latter section of Lime Avenue and following the exact same loop as lap one. At the end of the second lap, the course turns to the left at this point. A word of warning if you happen be further back in the field and are being lapped towards the end of the first lap - Don't follow everyone else when they turn left! The spot is marshalled and the marshal will try their very best to direct, but just be aware that the risk of making a wrong turn is fairly high, as my daughter found out the hard way. There is a small sign advising which way to turn on each lap, but it is very hard to see on the approach to the junction.

After turning left at the end of the second lap, the last section is uphill and heads past the original start point. Cones placed on the ground lead the parkrunners around to the triangular meeting point which is where the finish can be found set up on the grass. A line of volunteers scanning barcodes can be found adjacent to the playground. If you fancy joining the team for post-run refreshments, the advertised location is Euphorium Bakery which is just opposite Hampstead Heath Overground station. However there are of course many other options should you not fancy that. If you fancy staying within the heath, the closest is the Parliament Hill Cafe or the Hampstead Heath Lido Cafe which is 100% vegan.

I recorded the course using my Garmin and the resulting GPS data can be viewed on Strava. I also used the Relive app to make a course fly-by video, which can be viewed on YouTube. The current course is different to the one used on my first visit back in 2013. In fact the start and finish are now in a completely different place. If you are interested in the old course, the GPS data and Relive video can also be found on Strava and YouTube. The links are at the bottom of this write-up. The results for event 611 were published later that morning and there were 493 finishers (sadly not including my daughter, who didn't cross the finish line due to the wrong turning noted above).

Post-parkrun we headed off to explore the heath. The first point of call was the Hollow Tree which was smaller than I was expecting - it is currently roped off to protect it and its delicate root system from damage. We then worked our way around to see the viaduct and then made our way up to the Parliament Hill viewpoint via the famous mixed swimming pond. At this point the clock was ticking on our parking window in East Heath car park, so we jumped in the car and moved it to the Kenwood House car park, using our English Heritage membership to avoid further car parking costs. We then explored the Kenwood House grounds and had a picnic next to the lake, which has a folly in the form of a white bridge making this a wonderfully picturesque setting. Just to the east of the house is another of Hampstead Heath's viewpoints, this one is much quieter than its more famous sibling. Finally we went inside the house itself, which is of course very grand.

Even after being on the heath for around six hours I still felt as if we hadn't even begun to scratch the surface. It is so vast that you'd need quite a few trips to see it all. Plus there's the whole of Hampstead Village to go and explore, and the heath is not that far away from Highgate Cemetery which of one of London's magnificent seven cemeteries. So there's plenty left for us to do when we revisit. All that's left to do is say a huge thank you to all of the volunteers.

Related Links:

• My GPS data (2024)
• The Relive Course Fly-by Video (2024)

• My GPS data from 2013 (2013 course)
• The Relive Course Fly-by Video (2013 course)

• My original Hampstead Heath parkrun write-up (blog7t)
• The London parkrun Venues (blog7t)

• Alliterative parkruns (blog7t)

 

Bug Hunter Waters parkrun

Northstowe is a new town about 8 miles to the north of Cambridge. It was conceived in the mid-2000's to meet the demand for additional housing in the South Cambridgeshire local government district of the historic county of Cambridgeshire. The area was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it appeared as the 'Hundred of Northstow' which covered a number of villages and settlements including Long Stanton All Saints, Long Stanton St Michael, and Oakington, reaching as far south as the border with Cambridge where it covered Madingley, Girton, Impington, and Milton. The Northstowe name disappeared when the area's administration was changed to the parish of Chesterton following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. When the new town was created, the historic name was revived.

As of 2024, the development of the town is well underway and is still years away from being completed, but when it is, it will contain around 10,000 homes, housing 25,000 people, and will be the second largest town in the whole of Cambridgeshire. It will fill all of the land between the villages of Longstanton to Oakington. The land it occupies was partly agricultural and archaeological investigations have revealed that the area contained an Iron Age settlement that was inhabited through the late Roman period.

The majority of the land was previously home to a Royal Air Force base called 'RAF Oakington'. Construction of the base began in 1939 and post-Second World War, the RAF used it as an advanced flying training school. When the school closed at the end of 1974, it became a British Army barracks until the late 1990s. Its final use was as Oakington Immigration Reception Centre, which closed in 2010. Work on creating Northstowe started in 2014 and the first residents moved in in 2017.

On the north-eastern border of the town there are three lakes, and in 2022 a competition was held to name them. The two southernmost lakes are owned by Homes England, the non-departmental public body that funds and manages the whole development. They have been named Unity Lake, to reflect the community coming together, and Halcyon Mere, which takes its name from the Halcyon bird and symbolises the lake's natural tranquillity. The northernmost lake was named Bug Hunter Waters, and this reflects the winner's (a mother and her 4-year old son) joy of catching bugs at the lake.

Bug Hunter Waters, also known as Northstowe Waterpark, is owned by Anglian Water and is used as a balancing facility to help to manage surface water run-off and is key to ensuring the local area, including roads and homes are protected from flooding. Even though it looks like a simple lake, there is apparently a fair amount of technology installed beneath the surface. This means the lake itself cannot be used for recreation purposes, and is left purely for wildlife. There is a pathway around the lake that provides a scenic route where residents can enjoy a stroll while admiring the picturesque view.

On 16 June 2024 the waterpark became home to a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event called Bug Hunter Waters parkrun. It is open to all abilities including those who wish to walk, and also to wheelchair users. People running or walking with buggies and dogs are also welcome, but dog owners should familiarise themselves with parkrun's policy on participating with a dog. Participants just need to register for free in advance and ensure they have scannable version of their personal barcode (can be used at any parkrun worldwide) available for scanning at the end. It is also an ideal opportunity for anybody that would like to become involved as a regular or occasional volunteer. We visited Northstowe on 24 August 2024 and took part in event number 11.

For the majority of non-locals, travel to the venue will involve the Longstanton Park & Ride which is located to the west of the venue. If using public transport, the only option that gets you all the way to the venue is a bus. However if you are travelling from further afield using national rail, it is possible to head to Cambridge railway station and complete the journey using The Busway Route A, or Cambridge North railway station and use The Busway Route B. For most of its route The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway uses the path of the former Cambridge to St Ives railway line where the buses are guided along the road by using a special kerbed guidance system to steer the bus. With a total length of 25km, it is the longest guided busway in the world. The bus station is also served by the number 5 and 5A buses.

The park & ride contains a car park which can accommodate 350 vehicles and parking is free-of-charge for up-to 18 hours. This is the official place to park for the parkrun and doing so has been fully endorsed by Cambridgeshire County Council. The only request is that those attending parkrun use the part of the car park that is furthest away from the Busway station - there were signs and a car park marshal in place when we visited. There may be other local places where vehicles can be parked, but it is important that parkrun participants stick to the agreed parking arrangement and do not park on the residential streets. The park and ride also has loads of bicycle parking, with some of it being covered, plus there are a further two bicycle racks within the park next to the start/finish area. Lastly, there are also toilet facilities at the park & ride which should be open from 7am, but please note there are no further toilet facilities within the park itself.

The park can be accessed directly from the park & ride car park and when we visited there was a 'Caution Runners' sign placed at the gate - making it easy to identify. The walk from the entry point to the parkrun meeting area is about 850 metres, so it is important to leave enough time to cover the distance. All you need to do is follow the tarmac footpath until reaching the triangular grass area next to the lake's bridge, where you will find all the usual parkrun paraphernalia and plenty of volunteers milling around. I used my Garmin to record the walk from the car to the meeting point via the toilets so please feel free to take a look if you think it would be useful.

The briefings both take place on this triangular piece of grass and the participants are then asked to move across to the start area in small seeded groups. The first to head over are the walkers (along with the tail walker and any official parkwalkers), and they are followed by the rest of the field in time order with those expecting to complete the course in under 20 minutes heading over last. This system appears to work really well and is very useful given that the start area is only the width of a regular footpath with no usable over-spill (the grass next to the path is on a steep bank).

The parkrun takes place over a two-lap hourglass-style course which is negotiated in a clockwise direction. It is mostly pancake flat but there are some very small changes in elevation at some points around the course - my GPS data reported a total of 5 metres of elevation change over the full 5 kilometres. Underfoot is approximately a 50-50 split between ultra smooth tarmac paths and slightly gravelly country park-style paths (it's probably a hoggin path), so I'd say it will be absolutely fine in road shoes in all conditions. The only section that leaves the paths is the finish line which is set up on the adjacent grass area.

From the start the course initially heads north but gradually turns to head towards the western end of the park, which most people would have already walked along during the walk from the Park&Ride. With this whole area being brand new, the tarmac is crisp, flat and simply a pleasure to run, walk or roll on, and at this point the path is mostly bordered by areas of grass with plenty of young trees dotted along the route. Incidentally, this path was home to a large number of slugs (brought out by the rain, no doubt) and the event definitely felt more like 'Slug Hunter Waters parkrun'. At the very end of the path, the course effectively does a u-turn when it reaches the 'Busway Hairpin', and transfers onto the gravelly path which runs alongside the Busway.

You can't really see the guided busway due to the bushes that line the northern border of the park, but every now and then you may hear a bus wooshing along to the left. This path is split into two sections - the first is mostly straight and is basically parallel to the tarmac path, but rises to a slightly higher elevation. The gravelly bit also feels a bit more natural as it is bordered by short bushes and shrubs. The end of the first section of gravel path is where the course's hourglass shape is formed as the path drops down and rejoins the tarmac for a split second. The second section of gravelly footpath continues the nature theme as it meanders its way along the northern side of Bug Hunters Lake itself.

At the most easterly point of the course the gravelly path has a slight climb and the route returns to tarmac. This path leads down to the most southerly point of the course and then back around to the original start area. However the course takes a quick diversion back onto gravel just before reaching the start area (you don't pass back through the start area), and this then completes the lap. Once the second lap has been completed, participants can then enter the finish funnel which is located on the original triangle of grass where the briefings are held. The barcode scanning takes place just after the finish and once the tail walker crosses the line the team heads over to Northstowe Tap and Social for the post-event refreshments and social gathering. As mentioned above, I recorded the course with my Garmin so feel free to take a look at the GPS data on Strava. There is also a Relive course fly-by video that can be viewed on YouTube.

We visited on the day that Storm Lilan hit the UK, and the official results page shows the number of finishers was 187 at event 11, which was considerably lower than the number of attendees present in the few events prior to our visit. At the time of writing the event had been averaging attendances in the mid-to-high 200's, with around 50% of the field being tourists. Considering the event is only 11 weeks old, the percentage of tourists is still high and considering the event's quirky name, I expect this will remain a popular tourist destination. I should mention that the course was very well marked out with signs and cones placed in all the right places. Overall it is generally a pretty straight-forward course to follow and providing you've had a look at the course map it would be fairly simple to navigate even without the signs. There were also a number of marshals (I think there were 7) out on the course meaning it was never too far between friendly faces.

As far as cancellations are concerned, there is an annual event called Northstowe Festival of Running which started in 2020 as a virtual race, but since 2021 has used the park's paths as part of their race routes so this means the parkrun cannot take place. The festival is usually held at the beginning of September, but the 2024 event fell on the last day of August. I'm not currently aware of any other events that would result in the parkrun cancelling, but I will update this write-up should any come to light. Given a large amount of the course is on tarmac, snow and ice are the obvious weather conditions that could cause a last-minute weather-related cancellation.

For post-parkrun activities the obvious one would be to explore the waterpark and try to find some of those wonderful bugs which give the lake its name. Even after only being established for a short period I hear it is home to lots of them including catepillars, beetles, and maybe even some dragonflies. Sadly there's not really anything else to do in Northstowe itself and the town came in for some criticism in 2023 when it was reported in the press that it had no shops, cafes or GPs. There were plans for a heritage centre but my understanding is this idea was scrapped in September 2023 when the contractor went bust.

However the Busway connects directly to the centre of Huntingdon, St. Ives and Cambridge so there are three easy-to-reach places which also give you the perfect reason for taking a ride on the world's longest guided busway. Although we would have loved to have taken a ride into Cambridge, we didn't have the time to do so on this occasion, so that day-out remains on our post-parkrun to-do list for now. Lastly, I'd just like to extend a huge thank you to all of the volunteers that helped to put the event on.

Related Links:

• Bug Hunter Waters parkrun GPS data (24 August 2024 / event 11)
• The Relive course fly-by video (24 August 2024 / event 11)

• The Cambridgeshire parkrun venues (blog7t page)

• Longstanton Park&Ride to the parkrun meeting point GPS data (24 August 2024)